Even in 2025, the Audeze Maxwell Remains One of the Best Gaming Headsets Available

I’ve reviewed a batch of headsets successful caller years; immoderate large and immoderate not truthful great. They’ve tended to prioritize definite aspects implicit others successful bid to basal out, with a fewer being coagulated jacks-of-all-trades that find their mode into my database for champion gaming headsets. But adjacent aft putting each those done their paces, high-end oregon otherwise, fewer travel adjacent to a long-time favourite – I’m talking astir the Audeze Maxwell.

I’m revisiting it since it has been 1 of my apical recommendations for rather immoderate clip (especially for PS5 owners) and to spot however it holds up successful 2025. While newer headsets person much refinements and/or blase features, precise fewer travel adjacent to the Maxwell successful presumption of axenic audio performance, arsenic it’s built similar a brace of audiophile-style headphones. That’s not to accidental it doesn’t bash everything other right, due to the fact that it’s inactive well-rounded with comfort, durability, and a coagulated mic. You’ll privation to invoke immoderate strict scrutiny erstwhile spending astir $300 for a gaming headset, but the Audeze Maxwell inactive earns its stripes.

Audeze Maxwell – Design and Comfort

The archetypal happening I noticed coming backmost to the Maxwell is conscionable however hefty it is. This isn’t needfully a atrocious thing, though – it’s built similar a ceramic location and has been durable done the years, but it’s inactive the heaviest headset I’ve used, coming successful astatine 490g. However, its value ne'er felt similar it wore maine down oregon made the acquisition uncomfortable. The headband, earcups, and forks are each coagulated aluminum to springiness it that high-end sturdiness, and determination isn’t truly immoderate loud branding oregon outlandish stylization which keeps it looking sleek and understated successful existent audiophile style.

The Maxwell has thick, dense, and plushy foam earpads wrapped successful leatherette with conscionable the close equilibrium betwixt firmness and softness to supply semipermanent comfort. Clamp unit is rather airy arsenic well, which is bully for your ears, but this means it relies a batch much connected the headband to carnivore the value connected your head. While the Maxwell has a reasonably basal plan with a bladed furniture oregon foam betwixt the alloy headband and suspension strap, it’s capable for alleviating the unit atop your head. That suspension strap is besides however you get the headset to acceptable properly, and it’s 1 of the fewer shortcomings of the Maxwell – it snaps into a acceptable of notches connected the wrong of the headset and it’s a symptom to adjust. This doesn’t springiness you overmuch country for finer adjustments, but erstwhile I recovered the close fit, I didn’t person to deliberation astir it again.

All the built-in controls for the Maxwell are connected the near earcup. Alongside the earpad, you’ll find the maestro measurement instrumentality and the in-game volume/chat premix instrumentality adjacent to each different – you tin easy premix these up astatine first, but I got utilized to distinguishing the 2 with capable time. There’s besides a 3.5mm audio jack successful lawsuit you privation to usage it arsenic an analog wired headset, a USB-C larboard for charging and connecting to devices, and the larboard for connecting the detachable microphone. On the outer broadside of the near earcup are the powerfulness fastener connected the little extremity and microphone-mute toggle connected the precocious end. These are large, hard-to-miss buttons that are casual to usage and thankfully don’t get mislaid successful the jumble of controls connected the earcup.

The detachable roar mic tin twist and signifier to get successful the close presumption adjacent your mouth, and it comes with a popular filter. But the existent stars of the Maxwell are the 90mm planar magnetic drivers – portion bigger operator size doesn’t ever mean amended dependable quality, this is 1 lawsuit successful which the headset lives up to those expectations. I get into the details aboriginal connected erstwhile talking astir dependable quality, but it’s worthy mentioning present since it is the main happening that stands retired connected the spec sheet.

Audeze Maxwell – Software, Customization, Battery Life

I wouldn’t person needfully called it a drawback erstwhile it archetypal came out, but the Audeze HQ bundle enactment is rather primitive. Thankfully, it’s much simplistic alternatively than being bloated oregon convoluted. There conscionable isn’t overmuch to configure different than EQ settings, but among the pre-made options disposable (which are intended to beryllium suited for circumstantial scenarios), nary of them sounded rather right. That is until I tweaked the archetypal customizable preset to find the close equilibrium wrong its 10-band equalization – a small boost connected the low-end and high-end helped bring retired the champion successful the Maxwell. Once I locked successful this preset, it became the lone EQ mounting I’ve utilized and it’s been fantastic for each scenario, gaming oregon otherwise.

There are a fewer different options you tin tweak similar microphone sidetone (to get feedback of your voice), the auto-shutdown timer, and measurement of the headset’s dependable prompts – you tin besides manually alteration the chat premix measurement successful the bundle arsenic well. It keeps things simple, but erstwhile you spot thing similar Turtle Beach’s Swarm II bundle oregon SteelSeries Arctis app, I bash privation I could fine-tune things a spot much to dial-in microphone performance, for example.

Audeze HQ is however you show artillery life, which you astir apt won’t person to interest astir often since the Maxwell is among the champion successful this area. It’s capable to past astir 80 hours from a afloat charge, and since utilizing it for 4 days consecutive for astir 10 to 12 hours a day, it inactive sat astatine astir 50% charge. Gaming headsets successful caller years person made strides erstwhile it comes to artillery beingness (some of which besides deed 80 to 100 hours disconnected a afloat charge), and the Maxwell inactive stands with them, arsenic I would expect from a headset arsenic hefty arsenic this.

Audeze Maxwell – Sound Quality and Performance

Sound prime is wherever the Audeze Maxwell shines brightest. With the aforementioned EQ settings, I recovered equilibrium crossed each frequencies. And adjacent astatine precocious volumes, nary of them sounded grating whether I was listening to the layered J-pop tunes of Yoasobi, the chaos of a Final Fantasy XIV raid, oregon the gunfire of a competitory Counter-Strike 2 lucifer portion paying attraction to subtle audio cues. It felt similar having a location theatre setup blasting into my ears with punchy bass, cleanable highs, and wide mids with a spacious transportation to make a affluent audio illustration that fewer headsets tin match.

Those qualities besides fto it radiance erstwhile it comes to positional/directional audio, and it’s the happening I ever harp connected with headsets for competitory gaming. In my fistful of ranked matches successful Counter-Strike 2, I was capable to pluck retired those circumstantial sounds to expect force enactment whether it beryllium footsteps from a definite direction, them reloading truthful I tin get the jump, oregon firefights disconnected successful the region truthful I tin rotate presumption connected the representation promptly. In each my caller headset reviews, I ever springiness FFXIV a whirl and bash my daily/weekly activities to trial things retired due to the fact that it tin beryllium a precise busy audio experience. The Maxwell is capable to chopped done the chiseled sounds of spells casting, abilities going off, dependable lines, and the soundtrack blaring – lesser headsets would crunch these dependable effects, making them blend with each different and/or dependable harsh.

Since the brace I person is besides designed for PlayStation, it’s capable to instrumentality vantage of the PS5’s Tempest 3D audio. It’s a proprietary spatial audio programme and tin marque definite games dependable similar they’re being played implicit a location theatre setup. I’m usually hesitant to usage virtual situation dependable options since they tin dependable artificial, but having utilized Sony’s Pulse 3D headset, Tempest 3D is simply a astute implementation. You get that aforesaid level of prime for situation dependable retired of the Audeze Maxwell – and I would anticipation truthful fixed however overmuch much costly it is, adjacent compared to the higher-end Pulse Elite. It’s a bully bonus is you’re a PS5 owner, due to the fact that single-player experiences tin truly travel to beingness successful a unsocial mode – I don’t usually similar describing things arsenic “immersive” arsenic it has mislaid immoderate of its meaning erstwhile it comes to audio gear, but it does consciousness that mode with headsets similar the Maxwell.

While it’s not needfully among the champion successful presumption of clarity, the microphone prime itself is good. However, it stands retired for its large sound isolation, which is surely the champion I’ve tested successful caller years. The Maxwell has AI-based sound reduction, and with it on, the clack of my mechanical keyboard and different inheritance sound would beryllium blocked out. Even portion talking and making sound connected purpose, it’s capable to absorption connected my dependable and hardly prime up thing else. The lone people against the Maxwell successful this respect is that the static from sidetone is rather loud, much truthful than different headsets. It’s a insignificant gripe for an different coagulated mic.

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